Bernard FonlonDr Bernard Fonlon was an extraordinary figure who left a large footprint in Cameroonian intellectual, social and political life.

Fonlon-Nichols AwardWebsite of the Literary Award established to honor the memory of BERNARD FONLON, the great Cameroonian teacher, writer, poet, and philosopher, who passionately defended human rights in an often oppressive political atmosphere.

France WatcherPurpose of this advocacy site: To aggregate all available information about French terror, exploitation and manipulation of Africa

Jacob NguniVirtuoso guitarist, writer and humorist. Former lead guitarist of Rocafil, led by Prince Nico Mbarga.

Martin JumbamThe refreshingly, unique, incisive and generally hilarous writings about the foibles of African society and politics by former Cameroon Life Magazine columnist Martin Jumbam.

Nowa OmoiguiProfessor of Medicine and interventional cardiologist, Nowa Omoigui is also one of the foremost experts and scholars on the history of the Nigerian Military and the Nigerian Civil War. This site contains many of his writings and comments on military subjects and history.

Postwatch MagazineA UMI (United Media Incorporated) publication. Specializing in well researched investigative reports, it focuses on the Cameroonian scene, particular issues of interest to the former British Southern Cameroons.

Victor Mbarika ICT WeblogVictor Wacham Agwe Mbarika is one of Africa's foremost experts on Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs). Dr. Mbarika's research interests are in the areas of information infrastructure diffusion in developing countries and multimedia learning.

TunduziA West African in Arusha at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda on the angst, contradictions and rewards of that process.

Francis NyamnjohProlific writer, social and political commentator, he was a professor at University of Buea and University of Botswana. Currently he is Head of Publications and Dissemination at CODESRIA in Dakar, Senegal. His writings are socially relevant and engaging even to the non specialist.

Ilongo Sphere: Writer and PoetNovelist and poet Ilongo Fritz Ngalle, long concealed his artist's wings behind the firm exterior of a University administrator and guidance counsellor. No longer. Enjoy his unique poems and glimpses of upcoming novels and short stories.

BakweriramaSpotlight on the Bakweri Society and Culture. The Bakweri are an indigenous African nation.

Fonlon-Nichols AwardWebsite of the Literary Award established to honor the memory of BERNARD FONLON, the great Cameroonian teacher, writer, poet, and philosopher, who passionately defended human rights in an often oppressive political atmosphere.

Bernard FonlonDr Bernard Fonlon was an extraordinary figure who left a large footprint in Cameroonian intellectual, social and political life.

AFRICAphonieAFRICAphonie is a Pan African Association which operates on the premise that AFRICA can only be what AFRICANS and their friends want AFRICA to be.

Catholic Meditation - 12th Sunday of Ordinary Time - Year A

Martn Jumbam

Mother Church invites us to celebrate Sunday, June 25, 2017 as the twelfth Sunday of Ordinary Time – Year A. The Entrance Antiphon of today’s Mass says: “God is the strength of his people. In him, we his chosen, live in safety. Save us, lord, who share in your life, and give us your blessing; be our shepherd for ever.”

We pray in this day’s Mass for the courage to live as Christians despite persecutions. The readings are asking us to stand up and be counted as worthy soldiers of God. As Christ says in Matthew’s Gospel of this day: “Do not let men intimidate you … do not be afraid.”

In the first reading, the prophet Jeremiah reassures us that God delivers the soul of the needy from the hands of evil men. Ours is a compassionate God, who always stands up for those who turn to him for shelter. In the second reading, Saint Paul tells the Romans that even though sin came into the world through Adam, man’s ancestor, God sent a second Adam, Jesus Christ, to wipe away that sin that led to damnation.

First Reading of Jeremiah 20: 10-13..

Jeremiah said: "I hear the whisperings of many: 'Terror on every side! Denounce! Let us denounce him!' All those who were my friends are on the watch for any misstep of mine. 'Perhaps he will be trapped; then we can prevail, and take our vengeance on him.' But the Lord is with me, like a mighty champion: my persecutors will stumble, they will not triumph. In their failure they will be put to utter shame, to lasting, unforgettable confusion. O Lord of hosts, you who test the just, who probe mind and heart, let me witness the vengeance you take on them, for to you I have entrusted my cause. Sing to the Lord, praise the Lord, for he has rescued the life of the poor from the power of the wicked!"

V/ The word of the Lord

R/ Thanks be to God.

Comment

Let me start by taking a brief historical look at Jeremiah’s time. That may help us to better understand the passage the Church has selected for our meditation this day. Jeremiah was born into a priestly family in a little village a few miles outside Jerusalem. He received his prophetic mission from God around 625 BC, while still a young man. During his forty years of ministry, he never tired of reminding his people of their covenant obligations and warning the kings of Israel, one after another, that their infidelity was about to bring down God’s punishment on the whole nation.

After the fall of Jerusalem in 587 BC, the Jewish nation was taken into exile. Some Jews fled to Egypt, taking Jeremiah with them by force. According to tradition, Jeremiah spent the rest of his life in Egypt, where he was eventually assassinated by his fellow Jews, and so his body lies buried on the African continent.

Coming back to the passage the Church has asked us to meditate on this day, we have one example of the interior conflicts that trouble Jeremiah under the strain of his prophetic mission. This passage comes from the final section of what is usually referred to as Jeremiah’s confessions. He has been sent out “to root up and to tear down”. In the midst of strong contradictions and opposition, Jeremiah keeps faith in God’s loyalty and compassion. These confessions are seen as the prophet’s intimate relationship with God. Whatever problems he has, whatever pains he feels, he takes them to God, as we all should.

What lesson am I taking home from this reading? Jeremiah tells me that when you accept to carry out God’s mission to your brothers and sisters, sufferings and persecutions are inevitable. It is the same message Christ gives his Apostles in Matthew’s Gospel of this day as he prepares to send them out to take his message to the four corners of the world. What is the solution? Do as Jeremiah, commit your cause to God and follow Christ’s advice: do not let men intimidate you, do not be afraid. For this, we need the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

We sing praises to you, Lord, because you have delivered the souls of those of us who are needy from the clutches of the Evil One. Continue to protect us this day through the power of your Holy Spirit. We make our supplication through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Second Reading: Romans 5:12-15

Brothers and sisters: Through one man sin entered the world, and through sin, death, and thus death came to all men, inasmuch as all sinned — for up to the time of the law, sin was in the world, though sin is not accounted when there is no law. But death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who did not sin after the pattern of the trespass of Adam, who is the type of the one who was to come. But the gift is not like the transgression. For if by the transgression of the one the many died, how much more did the grace of God and the gracious gift of the one man Jesus Christ overflow for the many.

V/ The word of the Lord.

R/ Thanks be to God.

Comment

The Letter to the Romans is the longest, most influential and rewarding of all of Saint Peter’s letters. It is thought that he wrote it in Corinth (in what is today modern Greece) round about the year 57 AD.

Paul did not found the church in Rome, which seems to have been founded by Jewish Christians from Judea or by Jews who had been converted to Christianity while on pilgrimage to Jerusalem. Even though Paul did not found the church in Rome, he was said to have been planning to visit Rome, the center of the then known world, and so the fate of the church in that city was of much interest to him.

What is the general trend of Paul’s doctrine in this letter? He concentrates on three major elements: first of all, the need of all people to understand clearly that they can only find salvation in Christ Jesus, secondly, the new life of hope and freedom that God has given to all who believe in his only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, and third, the problem of the failure of Israel, God’s favoured people, to attain the life of salvation brought by Christ. Paul insists on Jesus as both Messiah of Israel and Lord of the Gentiles.

Let’s turn our attention now to the passage the Church has selected for our meditation. Four important teachings appear in this passage: first of all, Adam’s sin has as consequence death, secondly, there is the contrast between the effects of original sin and those of the redemption brought by Christ, thirdly, the role play by Moses’ Law is brought out in relation to sin, and fourthly, the final victory of the reign of grace, which only those who believe in Christ as Saviour can enjoy.

Paul contrasts Christ’s obedience and submission to his Father’s will with Adam’s rebellion and disobedience. Christ’s obedience restores the happiness and eternal life we had lost through the sin of our first parents. The first Adam, our original father, brings sin to the world and the second Adam, Jesus Christ, redeems the world from the sin brought by Adam. Christ destroys sin’s power over us. In Christ, sin and death are conquered and grace and life flower. Grace is reconciliation and forgiveness, life is resurrection and eternal salvation.

Let us pray for the grace to forgive each other’s trespasses so that God, who sent Christ to forgive and redeem us from Adam’s sin, can also forgive us. We make our prayer through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Gospel: Matthew 10-26-33.

Jesus said to the Twelve: "Fear no one. Nothing is concealed that will not be revealed, nor secret that will not be known. What I say to you in the darkness, speak in the light; what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops. And do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather, be afraid of the one who can destroy both soul and body in Gehenna. Are not two sparrows sold for a small coin? Yet not one of them falls to the ground without your Father's knowledge. Even all the hairs of your head are counted. So do not be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows. Everyone who acknowledges me before others I will acknowledge before my heavenly Father. But whoever denies me before others, I will deny before my heavenly Father."

V/ The word of the Lord.

R/ Thanks be to God.

Comment

Today’s gospel is the continuation of last Sunday’s where we heard Jesus giving last minute instructions to his Apostles as he was preparing them for their mission to the world, which is to go out and proclaim the Good News of the Kingdom of God. The values of Kingdom are different from the values of the world, so much so that people tend to reject the message and turn against the messengers. Tradition has it that almost all the apostles died the violent death of martyrdom. Some of them ended up being crucified on the cross, like Peter and his brother Andrew; some were beheaded, like James and Paul; some were burnt alive, like Bartholomew; or thrown into a cauldron of boiling oil, like John.

It was natural, therefore, for the apostles to fear as Jesus was sending them out to evangelise a hostile world. So Jesus instructs them in today’s gospel on how to overcome the crippling fear that is gripping them.

The gospel identifies two fears that the apostles had: fear of false accusations and conviction, and fear of bodily harm and death. In either case, Jesus teaches them that the way to overcome fear is by keeping one’s mind focused not on things of the world, but on the coming kingdom of God. “So have no fear of them; for nothing is covered up that will not be uncovered, and nothing secret that will not become known” (v 26).

The authorities that persecuted Jesus and his followers had their strategies for covering up the truth. They knew how to tamper with evidence, they knew how to produce false witnesses and through them convict the innocent. They covered up the truth and celebrated a lie. Many of the apostles, like their Master, would be falsely accused and unjustly condemned to shameful treatment and death. The way to overcome such fear is to look up to Jesus who has demonstrated by his rising from the dead that in the end every lie will be exposed, the truth will come to light and justice will again be just. “Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather fear him who can destroy both the soul and body in hell” (v 28).

Persecution was a daily reality for the early Christians as it was for Jesus himself. Stephen was stoned to death on the spot when he tried to proclaim the message of Jesus. No wonder Jesus tells the apostles that he is sending them out “like sheep into the midst of wolves”. The violent wolves may kill the peace-loving sheep, but they cannot kill the soul. This is again demonstrated in the resurrection of Jesus.

By looking to Jesus, we see that the trials and sufferings of this life, especially those that we face as we try to live out and share our faith with others are short-lived. We should, therefore, not give in to fear of contradiction, knowing that in the end truth will triumph over lies, justice over injustice, and eternal life over death, as we see already in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus.

Let us pray to God to send us the Holy Spirit to fortify our faith, as he fortified the faith of the apostles at Pentecost, so that we too should not fear to speak the truth; that we should not fear to speak with boldness and proclaim God’s word from rooftops. May we have the courage to proclaim loud and clear what we hear whispered in our ears.

To be able to preach with boldness the message we receive, we must first of all look for that message where it is found: in Sacred Scripture. Let us not fear to search for the truth in God’s Word and if we have difficulty in this area, let us always turn to God in prayer, God who never abandons those who call on him. Amen.